Belonging
by NicAm13
Summary: Harvey comes to tell Mike about Grammy and helps him deal with the aftermath and priceless Marvey-ness ensues. Now MultiChap : Disclaimer: I do not own Suits..I just like playing with the characters. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hello everyone! This is my first Suits fic and I am more than excited to share it with you guys. I'm still debating if I'm going to take it to a Marvey slash level or leave it as a bromance of sorts. I'm a fan of either really, though I do love the angst of the romantic build up so we'll see. If I continue it there will probably be a rating bump. I wouldn't say I ship Mike and Harvey totally because I do ship Donna and Harvey as well…okay, let's face it, I'm just a Harvey addict lol. But come on, who isn't? Anywho, go ahead and take glance around this pretty little plot bunny and let me know what you think!

Mike Ross grabbed a T-shirt turned rag and started doing a quick wipe down of the apartment he had just finished buying and furnishing with his bonus check Harvey had so graciously bestowed upon him. He wanted to make sure everything was perfect for when his grandmother, his caretaker, his last little piece of family, came to look at her new home. Of course, he had hired two in home nurses to take care of her round the clock; there was no way he was going to leave her on her own ever again.

Just as Mike rounded the corner to the living room, he heard a soft knock on the front door. He set the decorative bowl down on the table and spun to turn the knob.

"Grammy, you're going to love this…Harvey?" Mike was stunned to silence seeing Harvey standing on the other side of the door, impeccably dressed in his navy pin stripped Tom Ford as per usual. Except this wasn't usual. There was a look on the older man's face that Mike had never seen before. Something that made his heart leap to his throat and beat at a furious pace.

"Harvey what are you doing here? If this is to prove to Grammy that you're not a hard ass you don't-"

Harvey held up a finely manicured hand and cut him off; all while taking three steps in to the apartment and shutting the door behind him.

"Mike, I…" Harvey let out a loud sigh and ran a hand over his striking face, leaving it rest on his mouth as his eyes met Mike's. The look of confused fear he saw in those blue orbs nearly made him choke with his own feeling. But he kept himself in check. Even now, he couldn't let Mike see that he cared. If he did, it would ruin him. Taking in a deep breath, Harvey forced himself on.

"Mike, after you left, someone kept calling the office for you. They eventually got ahold of Donna and she patched them through to me. It was the nursing home. "

Pure dread etched itself in his young features. Mike gave a quick shake of his head, as if trying to clear it and looked at Harvey, his eyes both daring and begging him to continue.

"It's your grandmother. She…she passed away." Harvey felt his throat tighten with the last three words and had to swallow hard, his eyes never leaving Mike's face. Mike on the other hand tore his eyes away from Harvey's as they filled with tears and he grabbed the mantle to steady himself.

"But she never even got to see this place" He rasped out between quickening breaths. He felt his knees weaken and he started to fall before he even totally realized what was happening. Just before he hit the ground, he felt a strong pair of arms wrap around his waist and hold him steady. Without thinking twice, Mike wrapped his arms around Harvey and buried his face in to the sturdy chest, the smell of expensive cologne invading his senses as he shook with sobs.

Harvey stiffened with the sudden contact but didn't push Mike away. Instead he felt the knot in his throat squeeze again and he tightened his arms around the smaller man and leaned his own cheek down to rest on the top of Mike's head. This was all too foreign to him. He wasn't a compassionate man by any means, but there was something about the kid that made it damn near impossible _not_ to feel. Mike's cries shook Harvey to the core, and brought about memories of the day Donna had told him about his father. Quietly, Harvey shed a couple tears in to Mike's hair for his dad. He had never really given himself proper time to grieve. Instead he had buried himself in work and attempted to ignore the situation, leaving the funeral planning to his brother while making the feeble offer to foot the bill. Harvey closed his eyes and tightened his arms around Mike's shoulders, hoping he was offering the support needed. The support he wished someone would have forced upon him five years ago.

A few minutes later, Mike slowly pulled his arms from around Harvey and stepped back, bringing his hands to his eyes and wiping at his tears. Harvey quickly did the same, praying it would go unnoticed. Smoothing out his silk tie, Harvey clenched his jaw when he heard Mike clear his throat. Reluctantly he looked up at the younger man, afraid of what he might see in his face. Harvey half expected to see cockiness in those usually playful eyes, and a snarky comment on his lips about 'caring'. But all he saw was complete and utter devastation, and it nearly brought Harvey to his knees. Carefully keeping his face neutral, he cleared his own throat and finally broke the deafening silence.

"Do you want a ride home? Ray is parked out front with the SUV and I can have him strap your bike to the rack."

Mike looked at his boss wearily for a moment, wanting to say no thank you and just take his bike and ride wherever. Maybe even in to oncoming traffic. If he got hit by a passing cab, there was a chance he would actually be able to feel something right now instead of the terrifying numbness. Mike let out a long sigh and nodded his head in spite of his thoughts. Judging by the look on Harvey's face, all that idea would get him was an ass chewing for having to miss more work than necessary.

"Okay." Was all Harvey's smooth, purely masculine voice said as he, much to Mike's surprise, held out an arm for him to step in to as they walked out the door. The weight of the refined suit coated muscled arm on his shoulders only added to the almost crippling weight already there brought by the last twenty minutes. He let Harvey shut and lock the apartment door and then steer him down the hall and out in to the blinding light and terribly noisy street. He glanced up at the curb and saw his bike already atop the roof of the Escalade, Ray standing ready to open the back passenger door. Harvey must have told him to go ahead and get it ready before he even came in to the building. The usual indignant scoff Mike would have given the man beside him was suppressed by an overwhelming sense of gratefulness. He wasn't sure when Harvey had become so understanding of him, but he certainly wasn't going to argue.

The ride to Mike's apartment felt like it took thirty seconds instead of the actual twenty minutes it was. It was spent in silence, Harvey's knee gently but firmly resting against Mike's while they both stared out the windows. One man's mind planning the next 24 hours, the other's completely shut down, which was no mean feat for Mike considering his genius. Harvey told Ray to go ahead and take a break as they pulled up outside the leaning brick building.

Once again Harvey put his arm around Mike's shoulders and led him through the doors and in to the elevator, removing it only once they arrived and Mike had to pull out his keys. Mike unlocked the door and walked in to his tiny kitchen. He couldn't even find it in him to be embarrassed by the dishes in the sink and the papers and yellow highlighters littering nearly every surface from work. He stopped moving once his feet hit the rug that formed the line between kitchen and living room, his crystal blue eyes staring through the dirty glass window beside the TV. His heart felt like it was in a vice grip. Hell, his whole damn chest did. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to think. And it all came from one almost unbearable truth: Grammy was gone.

It wasn't until he heard the locks on the door clicking that he realized Harvey had followed him inside. Jerked from his thoughts, Mike turned to see the lawyer hanging his suit jacket on the coat rack and continue to roll up his sleeves and loosen his tie. There were really no words to describe seeing the great Harvey Specter, in all his hard assed glory, standing in his kitchen looking tired. Not arrogant, not charming, just...tired.

Harvey sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day and looked at Mike, his warm brown eyes locking on to blue, and he had to look away fast before he caved and pulled his associate in to another soul baring hug.

"Are you hungry? I can order pizza?" Harvey said quietly, looking everywhere but at the reason he was there.

Mike shook his head in disbelief. He wanted to tell Harvey to go home, that he could take care of himself. But the words just wouldn't come. For some seemingly odd and perhaps twisted reason, Harvey just being there gave him so much more comfort then he ever thought possible. And the fact that he didn't know how long it would last devastated him even further. He ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair and looked at the floor.

"Thanks but I think I'm just going to hop in the shower and lay down. This is all a little...just…" He trailed off, not able to put words to how he was feeling.

Harvey gave a short nod, letting him know he understood. Mike hesitated a few seconds longer before walking in to his bedroom and shutting the door behind him.

It was nearly an hour later when Mike emerged from his room, hair wet from the scorchingly hot shower. He started making his way towards the kitchen to get a glass of water when he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of Harvey asleep on his couch, an untouched pizza box resting on the battered coffee table. Despite his inner despair, Mike felt the corners of his lips twitch up as he stared at his sleeping boss; his normally stern, handsome face looked relaxed and almost boyish in his sleep. Mike felt a familiar tug in his heart as he watched, and was suddenly very confused by it. That specific tug was reserved for Rachel, or Jenny, or on occasion Donna. But never Harvey.

As if he could feel Mike's gaze on him, Harvey's eyes opened and for a moment were gentle in a way that gave Mike chills. Quickly realizing where he was, Harvey sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

"I, uh...I didn't listen and ordered pizza anyway. If you're feeling up to it help yourself." He said, waving a dismissed hand at the box in front of him.

Mike caught a whiff of the pizza and the smell alone made his stomach knot. He violently shook his head and immediately regretted it from the look of disdain that filled Harvey's face.

"You need to eat." Harvey spoke in his stern voice. Mike swallowed down the lump in his throat and nodded once.

"And I will just not…not right now. I don't think it would stay down anyway." Harvey clenched his jaw but let out a reluctant breath. Mike turned back towards the kitchen and filled a glass with water. Once he returned to the living room, he was met with the form of Harvey hunched over with his head resting in his hands.

"I'm um…gonna head to sleep I think. I'm kinda drained and shit. Feel free to stay however long you want though." The last part was rushed; he didn't want Harvey to think he was kicking him out. The oddness of it not being lost on him either.

Harvey looked up at his associate with laugh lines around his eyes, though the amusement didn't quite make it to his lips. He silently stood and walked over to Mike, bringing a hand to rest on the younger man's skinny shoulder.

"Get some rest Mike. You look like hell."

For the second time in five minutes the corners of Mike's mouth twitched up in a halfhearted grin. Only this man could make fun of him under these circumstances and still manage to get him to smile.

"Aye Aye Captain." Harvey squeezed Mike's shoulder and rolled his eyes.

"I'll cut you some slack for using Trek again but next time, come up with some better shit will ya?"

Mike's grin grew a fraction and he shook his head. Without another word, he turned and walked back in to his bedroom and shut the door.

Harvey let out yet another sigh and dug in his pocket for his phone. He had some arrangements to make and he was going to need Donna's help.

AN: Still deciding if I should continue or leave as a oneshot. What do ya'll think? Reviews are food for my muse!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Well here is chapter 2! I appreciate the few reviews I received. They are the reason I am confident enough to continue on. Just a couple mentions to the ones I couldn't respond to since they reviewed as a guest or without logging in:QT05, superfanficreader, and Guest (lol) I do appreciate your reviews! Anyway, I'm writing this before the summer finale so I'm just going to take bits and pieces from the promo and bend them to do my bidding. Hope you enjoy!

X

"So everything is taken care of right? All of the arrangements are set for the day after tomorrow?"

"For the tenth time Harvey, yes. I will even make every last phone call again tomorrow just to make sure it's all in order." Donna's exasperated voice rang in Harvey's ear.

Harvey leaned back on to Mike's worn out couch and covered his eyes with his free hand.

"Thank you Donna. I'll see you in the morning." He heard the redhead's breathing stop for a moment in shock at the sincerity in his voice. He was just too exhausted to keep his walls up right now and besides, this was _Donna_; the only woman who had seen him shed a tear in his adult life. She quickly recovered and cleared her throat.

"Good night Harvey. Try to get some sleep. You sound like shit." And with a definitive click, the line went silent.

Harvey lowered his hand and sank even deeper in to the couch. He glanced at his phone and let out a strong sigh when he saw it was nearly midnight. He and Donna had spent the last five hours making all of the funeral arrangements for Mike's grandmother. And if that wasn't just the most exhausting thing in the world, he didn't know what was. Even all the stress of trying to manipulate votes for Jessica the past couple of weeks didn't hold a candle.

Harvey was reluctant to leave but he knew he had to get back to his condo and make a vague attempt at sleep before the living hell that was sure to meet him at the office in the morning. He felt his age as he stood and all the tension in his body crackle and pop. Allowing himself a brief stretch, Harvey grabbed the pizza box and put it in the barren refrigerator. He was reaching for his suit jacket when he noticed a sticky note tablet on the counter and decided to leave Mike a note. The kid needed time and he was more than willing to give it to him. The last thing he wanted was for his young associate to crack under the combined pressure of his grief and the bullshit that was Daniel Hardman. Harvey stuck the note to the freezer door and pulled out his phone to call Ray.

X

Mike awoke the next morning to the sound of his phone ringing loudly at him from the bedside table. Grumbling his frustration, he rolled over and picked it up to see five missed calls from none other than Louis Litt.

"What the fuck?" he mumbled as he dialed his voicemail. The automated woman began playing the messages that started at 8:30 that morning.

"Ross I don't know where the hell you are but I need the Anderson financials I gave you yesterday. I told you to have them on my desk by the time I got here this morning. If they aren't there by lunch time I'll make sure you regret it."

*beep*

"You're fucking kidding me right? Your voicemail again? Wake the fuck up Ross!'

*beep*

"Alright, I get it. You're just the slacker I thought you were. Not to mention a shitty associate. I mean, I figured you'd want to be here to support poor Harvey when the vote doesn't go his way. Whatever. If I don't have the Anderson files by lunch you're done."

*end of messages*

Mike held his phone in front of his face and stared at it dumbfounded. And then everything from the previous day came flooding back, reminding him of why he had still be asleep at eleven o'clock in the morning. Of why he wasn't at work. Of why there was a fist sized metaphoric hole in his chest.

The violent wave of sorrow that washed over him was enough to make him choke back a loud cry. Curling in to the fetal position, Mike hugged his pillow to his chest and buried his face, letting his tears drench it in the process.

X

"Harvey, Jessica is on her way." Donna's voice rang from the intercom.

"Fantastic." Harvey mumbled as he leaned back in his chair.

"What was that?" Jessica's smooth voice asked as she whisked in to his office, all authority and high fashion. Harvey smirked at her and tried his hardest to hide the immense anxiety in his eyes.

"Starting to hear things Jessica? You know that's a sign of old age. Maybe it's a good thing we're having this vote before you go completely senile and run this place in to the ground."

The matching smirk on the founding partner's lips fell immediately.

"This isn't a joke Harvey. There is a very real chance that Daniel will oust me as managing partner and screw you in the process. Now straighten up and tell me you're prepared for this." Her voice was soft but had that subtle hint of unspoken threat. Harvey stood and buttoned the top button of his dark grey Armani suit. He stretched his neck out and fought down a yawn. He ended up only getting four hours of extremely restless sleep once he returned to his condo and downed half a bottle of his favorite scotch.

"Jessica, I am about as prepared as I can be considering the circumstances. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a stack of files that need my attention."

Jessica turned to leave but stopped short and focused her curious eyes on Harvey's face. He was staring out at the city skyline and couldn't see her but he could feel her heavy gaze.

"Wait, you're proofing your own case files? Where is the false kid prodigy?" She asked, crossing her arms and sinking back on to her heel. Harvey looked down and picked up one of his prized basketballs. When he didn't say anything Jessica straightened back up and took two steps towards him.

"What happened?" Her voice was soft again, only this time it was injected with genuine concern. She was the only woman he knew that could have a complete poker face on but still convey every emotion on the spectrum through her voice. Harvey raised his head and looked back out the window.

"His grandmother died yesterday." Saying it out loud hurt his heart in a way that made him feel as if he had lost his own grandmother.

Jessica blanched slightly but quickly composed herself.

"Oh." Was all she said, recalling her conversation with Mike about his parents and grandmother when she had invited him to dinner.

"Yeah." Harvey responded, not wanting to talk too much more about it. The fact that he had spent more time in the last 18 hours swallowing the golf ball in his throat was enough to infuriate him. He wasn't a stranger to emotions but he definitely avoided them at all costs. They made him weak. Harvey didn't do weak.

"When are the services?" Jessica's voice broke him out of his own mind. He turned to look at her but found he couldn't quite do it so he settled for looking over her shoulder and through the glass wall at Donna.

"Tomorrow morning at eleven."

"Have Donna send me the details. Tell the kid to take as much time as he needs. And if this whole thing goes to hell tonight and Daniel tries to give him a hard time for missing I'll personally shove my heel up his ass." She turned to leave and Harvey knew he should say something so he said the first thing that came to mind that didn't make him sound like a complete pussy.

"Thanks Jessica." She kept walking towards the glass door but he could see the small smile on her face as she turned the corner and headed down the hall. Just as Harvey thought he would have a peace and quiet again, he saw Louis' weasel-like face walk past Donna and right in to his office, despite her attempts to stop him.

"Louis. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he nearly gagged on the false politeness in his tone. God he couldn't wait for this vote to be over.

"Where is Ross?" The tone Louis used didn't really make it sound too much like a question though, more like a demand for information. And all it did was push Harvey closer to the edge of the cliff he was standing on. Clenching his fists, Harvey leaned back on the marble window ledge and crossed his arms.

"I don't see how his whereabouts are any of your concern Louis." He said from between gritted teeth.

Louis rolled his eyes and did that odd twitching thing he had a habit of doing when he was feeling particularly cocky.

"I manage the associates remember Harvey? Not to mention he has some important case files of mine that I told him to have on my desk first thing this morning." It took everything in Harvey to plaster a smirk on his face and walk over to his desk, picking up a small stack of blue folders and waving them in Louis' direction.

"You mean these files?" The arrogant grin on the weasel's face dropped immediately as he took the files and quickly flipped through them, seeing yellow highlighter and red pen markings correcting all of his mistakes. Face buried in the papers Louis regained his high and mighty tone.

"Huh. Well I guess I should have held off on berating him via voicemail earlier."

Harvey's face blanked as he felt his barely contained rage blister under his skin.

"You did what?" His words were so quiet, he was sure only Louis' abnormally large ears could have heard them. Flipping the folders closed, Louis brought his uncaring eyes up to meet Harvey's piercing brown ones, oblivious to just how close his fellow senior partner was to dive bombing over the edge.

"Oh, yeah, I called him a few times this morning and told him what a useless pos he is. Oh well. Hind sight is 20/20 and all that jazz." He didn't even have time to brace himself before Harvey grabbed him by the lapels of his suit and slammed him in to the wall beside his desk, effectively knocking the wind out of the smaller man.

"You have no idea what you've done do you, you slimy piece of shit! I swear to god, if you _ever_ say two words to Mike again, I will make you regret it every day for the rest of your miserable little life. Do you understand me?"

Louis was in so much shock he just stared at Harvey, mouth agape like a moron. But the free falling lunatic in Harvey wanted an answer so he pulled back and slammed Louis in to the wall again.

"Do. You. Understand. Me?" He enunciated every word, injecting them with a menace that would have scared feeling in to the most far gone psychopath.

"Y, yes…I u, understand you." Louis was shaking under his hands. Or maybe it was just his hands that were shaking. Harvey couldn't even tell at this point. He slowly slid Louis down the wall and let go of his jacket. He turned his face away and closed his eyes.

"Get out." Harvey spoke softly, trying to put a lid back on this beast raging inside of him. Louis immediately started walking towards the door but, like an idiot, turned and made an attempt at explaining.

"Harvey I-" He was cut off by Harvey grabbing the phone off his desk and hurling at his head.

"I said GET OUT!" Louis tucked his tail between his legs and ran out of the office, nearly knocking Donna over on her way in. Harvey was bracing himself with his arms on his desk, head bent in concentration. He tried desperately to even out his breathing and regain control. He couldn't even remember the last time he lost it like that. Not even punching Tanner had been close to the pure rage coursing through him. But just the thought of anything remotely cruel being said to Mike, especially today of all days, made his blood boil.

"Harvey are you okay?" Donna's worried voice rang in his ears; her small hand came to rest on his tense shoulder.

"No Donna, I'm really not." His normally strong voice shook with exhaustion. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, his whole body ached to go home and pass the fuck out. He felt her hand run across his shoulders in a soothing way and he let out a long, heavy breath.

"Well champ, I think I need to call the janitors to come clean up the trail of piss leading down the hall from your office." She gave his shoulders one last squeeze before heading back to her desk.

"Oh, and Mike is here." She called over her shoulder in a nonchalant tone. That got Harvey's attention.

His head snapped up and he followed her lead out of his office.

"I'm sorry; I must have heard you wrong. Did you just say Mike is here?" His tone was unbelieving. There was no way the kid was in the building. She was just saying it to get him to focus on something other than hunting Louis down and trying to correct his face with a baseball bat.

"You heard her right Harvey. And how dare you doubt Donna's information. Don't you know who she is?" Mike's voice spoke from behind him. Harvey spun around so fast he had to brace himself on Donna's desk. There he was; all blue eyes, light grey suit, and black skinny tie.

"Nice to see someone appreciates me." Donna said with a wink at Mike, who returned her grin, even if it didn't reach his eyes. Harvey composed himself and motioned for Mike to follow him back in to his office.

"Hold all my calls Donna. And if that weasel comes back you have my permission to kneecap him." He heard Donna snicker behind him as he led Mike through the glass door, shutting it once they were both inside.

"What the hell happened there?" Harvey glanced over to see Mike staring at the shattered black plastic phone lying in the corner.

"Louis happened." Was he short reply. He walked over to his desk and leaned against the front of it, arms crossed and a look of worried confusion on his face.

"Didn't you get my note? I said for you to not worry about coming in."

Mike grinned at him as he sat on the slightly over stuffed leather couch and crossed his ankle over his knee.

"Yes Harvey I got your note. By the way, sticky note on the refrigerator? How very Stepford of you."

His playful tone made Harvey roll his eyes.

"Seriously though, I was already awake. And judging by the smashed phone against the wall and Louis being the reason, you already know _why_ I was awake."

Harvey had to close his eyes and clench his fists to keep the anger from returning full blast again.

"Yeah, the dumbass came in here this morning looking for you and thought it was a good idea to tell me what he did. Needless to say, he's lucky I didn't put his head through the wall when I threw him against it."

Mike's eyes widened at that.

"Harvey please tell me you didn't do something that could jeopardize the vote." He looked across the room at his associate and flashed his best cocky grin.

"Please, I've dealt with worse. We'll be fine." It was Mike's turn to roll his eyes.

"I don't think you've ever dealt with anything in your life Harvey. You've handled things sure, but you've never _dealt_ with them."

Harvey froze. How in the hell did the kid know him so well? He'd spent the last few years trying so hard to keep the real him under wraps and yet, this scrawny, confident, amazingly strong man had started chiseling away at his walls from day one with a suitcase full of pot. He cleared his throat and attempted to shift the focus of their conversation.

"Says the man who came to work today when he really shouldn't have."

Mike groaned and ran a hand over his face. The sound that escaped his lips sent a shiver through Harvey.

"Yeah well I got a phone call about half an hour after I woke up from the nursing home wanting to confirm the funeral home so they could arrange transport…" He trailed off, thinking of his grandmother's body being loaded in to an ambulance. He shook his head violently, trying to get rid of the images.

"Anyway, I'm here for two reasons. One to thank you for taking care of all of that stuff. I'll pay you back. And two, to be here to support you through this vote. You've helped me so much in the last day you don't even realize. If I can repay that in any way just by _being_ here, then I will do it. And…I need to focus on something, _anything_ else. Please don't make me go back home." The plea in his last sentence was almost sickening. Mike looked up at his boss with those brilliant blue eyes and all of Harvey's resolve melted away. He was sick and tired of fighting today. Harvey crossed the room and sat beside Mike, putting his arm around his shoulders.

"First off, you will _not_ pay me back. Secondly, you being here really does help. Thank you."

Mike was speechless. The amount of sincerity in Harvey's words made him glance up, his eyes locking with Harvey's. Both of their hearts sped up as they gazed at each other, the world melting away. It was pure confusion for the two of them, neither really ever feeling like this before. Mike because of his lack of experience and Harvey because he absolutely refused. Not to mention they were both _men_.

"Harvey, Jessica wants you in conference room B. It's time." Donna's cryptic voice rang from the intercom on his desk.

The two men jumped and hurriedly looked away from each other, both scared to acknowledge just how close they had gotten to each other. Harvey stood, buttoning the top button of his jacket and smoothed out his tie. He started walking towards the door before he stopped and looked behind him at the visibly shaken associate.

"Well are you coming or what?" The arrogant lawyer face firmly back in place. Mike looked up at him, eyes wide.

"Um…yeah. If you don't think I'll get kicked out." Harvey scoffed.

"Jessica's the one up for vote. Either way, I'm still a senior partner and you're my associate. If I want you there, you'll be there. And I want you there."

X

Twenty minutes later, Mike was tasked with the job of counting the votes. So far he had 3 for Hardman, and 3 for Jessica. He reached in for the last slip of paper hesitantly, like it was a snake that would bite him if he moved to fast. When he opened it, he felt what remaining color he had drain from his face. His eyes flickered to Harvey's who had been staring at him intently the whole time. Mike tried to tell him with his eyes that he was sorry before he said out loud what no one really wanted to hear; at least not anyone on the losing side.

"Hardman."

X

AN: Well this got WAY longer then I intended (3225 words) but I wanted to get the vote out of the way before the funeral. I have the funeral chap already written but I probably won't post it until Friday evening. Keep an eye out though, it will be coming! Again, reviews are food for my muse! And follow me on twitter for various updates and randomness: NicAm13


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Well here's the funeral. The long note will be at the end. Hope you have your tissues ready.

X

The room was dark and filled with smoke. His breathing was shallow and his throat dry. Every time he tried to inhale his head spun, leaving him dizzy and confused. He tried to look around him for some kind of escape but there was none. He was trapped. Alone. In this suffocating blackness. Mike jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and spun around to see who it was but it was so dark he couldn't see anything but the smoke.

"It's been two months Michael, I figured you'd like to know I was still alive."

Grammy's voice filled his head and he collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm so sorry Grammy. So sorry." His body shook with sobs as he mumbled his apologies and begged silently for forgiveness.

"It's time to wake up Mike." Her voice called in his head again. He clung to it but at the same time wishing it would all just go away.

"Mike, come on, it's time to get up."

Mike shot up in bed with a startled cry. Standing beside the bed was Harvey, dressed in a simple black Prada suit and tie, his strong hand on Mike's shoulder.

Mike hung his head and covered his face with his hands. He felt the tears from his nightmare on his cheeks and quickly wiped them away. The despair he felt was still running through him, all the fine hairs on his body were standing on end. And the thing that killed him most was that he had a feeling it wasn't going to go away any time soon.

"Hey kid, sorry to wake ya but we need to get going." Harvey's soothing voice said in his ear. Mike took a minute to wonder when his boss' voice had become soothing instead of irritatingly arrogant.

"What time is it?" he croaked out, his voice still scratchy from sleep and nightmares.

"Almost 9:30. I tried leaving you sleep as long as possible but I figured you'd want a shower."

Mike nodded shoving the blanket from his lap and swung his feet over the side of the bed. Harvey started towards the bedroom door.

"Hey Harvey, how the hell did you get in here?" Mike questioned before standing, genuine curiosity written on his face.

Harvey flashed his signature smirk and held up a brass key.

"The spare key you gave Donna. I disabled the alarm on your phone last night at the office and made sure I could get in to wake you up. I'll be out here when you're ready. There's a suit on the back of the door for you." Harvey walked out and shut the bedroom door behind him.

Mike entered the bathroom and turned the shower on full blast, the steam immediately fogging the mirror. He hoped the scalding hot water would help wash away the lingering effects of his nightmare but he highly doubted it. In less than an hour he would be face to face with the one thing he kidded himself in to believing would never happen.

Ten minutes later, he stepped out of the shower, towel around his waist, and walked back in to his room to see a matching black Prada suit hanging on his door. The only thing that made it different from Harvey's was the skinny tie hanging over the shoulders. A small smile found its way on to Mike's face and he couldn't help but wonder at how Harvey could make him genuinely smile at a time like this. He shook his head and chose not to think on it too much, after all, this attentive attitude from his boss was probably more self-serving than anything. Harvey needed Mike at 100% at work, especially with Hardman in control now. To do that Mike needed to grieve and have some sort of closure with his grandmother. If helping Mike with that put him back on the path to being 100% then of course Harvey would do so.

Mike finished the knot on his tie and pulled the jacket on, not surprised to find it was perfectly tailored. He walked out of his bedroom buttoning the top button and caught sight of Harvey pacing in his tiny living room. The older man stopped in his tracks when he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He looked Mike up and down and had to bite his tongue to keep from licking his lips. Despite the reason for wearing it, the kid looked pretty damn sharp in black Prada. Mike shifted uncomfortably under Harvey's gaze, a blush surfacing on his cheeks. He needed to snap Harvey out of his stupor so he straightened his skinny tie and smirked at him.

"You know what the difference between you and me is? I make this look good." His tone was light and playful, but both men could tell it was forced.

Harvey let out a small chuckle and rolled his eyes.

"I think you need some shades and a little more swagger to go Will Smith on me rookie. Besides, Men in Black? We need to get you back on your game."

The mood returned somber as Mike's earlier thoughts of Harvey only supporting him for professional reasons were all but confirmed. Harvey cleared his throat and motioned towards the front door.

"Ray is out front. We better get going."

Mike swallowed down the rather large lump in his throat and nodded, forcing his feet to move. What worried him the most at the moment was that he wasn't sure if the lump was because of what he was on his way to do, or because of his disappointment that Harvey didn't care more about him. He was almost fooled yesterday in Harvey's office when they had gotten lost in the moment of just _being _together, but 'fool' apparently was the operative word here.

Once they were in the black town car, they both settled back and stared out the windows, much like they had two days ago. Mike was brought out of his own little world when he heard the distinct sound of a blues guitar and a strong voice to accompany it through the speakers.

_Woke up this morning_

_After another one of those crazy dreams_

_Oh nothing is going right this morning_

_The whole world is wrong it seems_

_Oh I guess it's the chains that bind me_

_I can't shake or lose these chains and things._

The words struck Mike in the chest so hard it nearly knocked the wind out of him. How apt they were. He turned to look at Harvey who was lightly tapping his foot to the slow beat.

"What song is this?" he asked quietly. Harvey turned to look at him, a genuine sadness in his eyes. Mike had never really asked him about a specific song before and he knew instantly why this one had become the exception.

"B.B. King, Chains and Things. It's a classic, one of my favorites." Mike nodded his head once and turned to stare back out the tinted window, Harvey left to gaze at his saddened profile. He hated seeing his associate in so much pain and for some unexplainable reason he wished he could just take it all away. Make his life normal and happy again.

"We're here sir." Ray's smooth voice came from the driver's seat. Harvey forced himself to look away from Mike and open his door, holding hit open for the younger man to slide out. When he was left standing for about a minute, he ducked his head inside and saw Mike paralyzed on the other side of the car, his eyes wide in fear. Harvey let out a small sigh and held his hand out.

"Come on Mike, it's time." Mike shook his head minutely, but Harvey still saw it. "It'll be alright, I promise. I'll be right here the whole time." When Mike still didn't budge, Harvey felt his frustration begin to rise and stood so Mike couldn't see it on his face. He wasn't really frustrated at Mike, more so at the fact that he could only do so much to help him. He ran a hand over his face and closed his eyes. Just when he was going to try to talk his associate out of the car again, he felt a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Let me." Harvey turned to see Rachel's big brown eyes looking sympathetically up at him. He hesitated a moment, not really willing to be too far away from Mike but finally conceded to the fact that Rachel might have better luck then the man that gave him the news that put him in this situation to begin with.

Harvey nodded once and took a step back, allowing her room to slide in to the seat. She gave him a sad smile and squeezed his shoulder again. It was amazing how perceptive she was to be able to tell just how hard this was on Harvey too. No wonder Mike was drawn to her.

"Jessica and Donna are inside." She said as she moved in to the car, shutting the door behind her.

Harvey turned and walked towards the church, hands shoved in his pockets and head hung low. He heard Donna's voice as soon as he passed through the wooden doors and immediately gravitated towards her. She had been his support for so long, it was hard _not_ to.

"Harvey." Jessica, who was standing opposite Donna, stepped forward and gave him a one armed awkward hug. When she stepped back she looked him up and down and frowned. "You look like hell." Harvey scoffed at her.

"You know I never get tired of hearing that." Was his reply, as he allowed Donna to pull him in to a full on hug, this one a lot less awkward.

"Where's Mike?" The redhead asked, looking around his shoulder for the younger man.

"Rachel is trying to talk him out of the car. Poor kid looked terrified to come in here." With those words he glanced up at the casket. It was closed with a smiling picture of Edith Ross beside the head. There were at least twelve baskets of flowers placed all around, the largest resting on top. It was an arrangement of deep red roses, calla lilies, baby's breath, and long green reeds. Harvey had picked it out himself yesterday morning before Mike had surprised him at the office. He couldn't help but hope Mike loved it.

Just as his thoughts were drifting back to Mike, he heard the doors to the church creek open. He turned to see Mike and Rachel entering, her arm around his waist supporting him, his body rigid and his eyes were refusing to look anywhere but the floor. They looked so close. So much closer than Harvey had ever considered before when he had told Mike to end it with her. He felt a pang in his chest at the thought, a mild jealousy coursing through him. He watched Rachel escort Mike past him and to the front pew where she sat beside him. It took nearly every ounce of strength in Harvey to fight down the urge to march up there and take her spot. But he settled for sitting right behind him, close enough to offer support but far enough away for the space he obviously needed. Jessica and Donna sat to Harvey's left, both women wanting to offer their own sense of family as well.

"Mike hunny, I think it's time to start." Rachel whispered in his ear. Mike shook his head again, only this time there was a definite desperation to it. The gorgeous brunette turned and looked to Harvey for assistance. Harvey set his jaw and stood, buttoning the top button of his jacket and walked up to the podium. It took him a moment to compose his thoughts, he most certainly wasn't prepared for this but if it helped Mike get over some of his nerves then he'd do just about anything at this point. Harvey cleared his throat and began, his eyes roaming over the mostly elderly in attendance, before coming to rest on Mike's shocked face.

"I want to thank you all for coming today. I know many of you are probably wondering who I am but I don't really think that matters." There was an audible gasp from Donna and Jessica, both shocked to hear the great Harvey Specter say he didn't matter.

"I only had the pleasure of meeting the infamous Edith Ross once, and it was just a few short days before her passing. In the few minutes I had to speak to her, she managed to call me a hard ass and totally win me over. But in all honesty, she had already won me over without ever meeting me. You see, I work with her grandson, Michael Ross. And I knew just from the way he talked about her that she was an amazing woman. That she commanded love, fear, and respect all in the same breath. And if you couldn't tell just by his words how great she was, you could tell by the person that Mike is." Harvey's eyes locked with Mike's long enough to see a tear escape down his cheek. Then he turned to look at the casket beside him and tipped his head.

"You raised one fine man Mrs. Ross. Thank you for giving the world the best of you to live on. We'll all do our best to keep watch over him for you." He placed a hand on the head of the casket for a moment and then turned to walk back to his seat, stopping beside Mike, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Go ahead Mike. I promise you'll feel a lot better once you do." Mike's jaw tightened but he nodded once and stood, visibly shaking. Harvey squeezed his shoulder one last time and took his seat.

Once Mike got to the podium, he braced himself with his arms, eyes lingering on the picture of his grandmother. After a few minutes, he finally cleared his throat and started talking.

"Like Harvey said, I want to thank everyone for being here. For coming to pay your respects. I know seeing you all here would have made her smile." He had to stop and swallow hard.

"Grammy was the most amazing, caring, and supportive person I have ever known. She took me in when I had no one else. She loved me when I needed it and punished me when I deserved it. She was my whole entire family." Tears shown in his blue eyes and Harvey could see something in him snap.

"And when she needed me most, I stuck her in a home and took a job where I only saw her once a month…if that. She gave me a chance at a normal life and I abandoned her. I…" He trailed off and wiped furiously at the tears on his cheeks. "I'm sorry I…I can't do this." Mike stepped down from the podium and ran down the center aisle, every face turned to watch him in shock. Harvey was on his feet following him before he was even half way out the door.

"Mike!" he called, chasing him down the concrete stairs.

"Go away Harvey!" Mike called over his shoulder, stopping at the curb to bend over and try to catch his breath between sobs.

"Mike hey-" he tried to make his voice comforting as he reached out to touch Mike's shoulder, but he was cut off by the blonde man jerking away.

"I told you to go away! We both know why you're here so how about we just stop pretending huh? Stop acting like you give a shit."

That caught Harvey off guard. It hurt him deeply to hear Mike say those words but enraged him at the same time. After everything he had done the last couple days, he had the balls to tell him he didn't care.

"Alright then, enlighten me. Why am I here exactly?" Harvey smoothed out his face to an impassible mask, his tone slightly annoyed. Mike scoffed and finally turned to face him.

"You're here because you want to make sure I get everything out. Put it all behind me so I can come back to work for you like nothing happened. That's all this is about! You need me to help you with Hardman. You need me to be completely focused on your dirty work with no distractions. Well I'm sorry Harvey. I can't just turn it off like you do. I can't pretend everything is okay when I just lost the one person who ever truly cared about me!" Mike shouted at him, and every word made Harvey blanch internally. Mike couldn't be more wrong. But Harvey wouldn't show it. If that is how low his associate really thought of him, then he'd do his best to live up to it. This, right here, was why he never put himself out there. Caring got him nothing but hurt.

"You know what? You're right. Everything I do is about me. I planned your grandmother's funeral for me. I didn't even plan my own _father's_ funeral! But that's fine Mike. You want to think that you're all alone, then go ahead and _be_ alone." With that Harvey got in to the town car and told Ray to take him home, leaving Mike stunned to silence staring after him.

X

Later that night, Harvey was pacing his condo, tumbler full of scotch in hand. The blowout he had with Mike on the sidewalk earlier was bothering the hell out of him. Sure he was furious that Mike had flown off the handle and yelled at him but when had he ever given him a reason not to think those things of him? He told him practically on a daily basis he didn't care about anything but winning. Not to mention the stress Mike was under, Harvey was honestly surprised the shit hadn't hit the fan sooner.

Harvey sank down on to his oversized leather couch, leaning his head back to rest on the top cushion. It bothered him that what Mike said bothered him in the first place. It bothered him that he felt like he had to fix things. And it truly bothered him that he just couldn't picture his life without Mike in it, and it terrified him that he didn't mean that in a total professional capacity.

With his resolve intact, though very shaken, Harvey drained the glass of its contents and stood, grabbing his jacket on the way out. He had a plan and if he knew Mike like he thought he did, it would help rebuild whatever bridges had been burnt by burning something a lot more fun.

X

Mike had just finished smoking the last bowl of weed he had left over from his stop on the way home from the funeral. He was pretty far gone but not gone enough for his liking. The day had kicked him in the balls and then walked away taunting him. Even with accompanying her to the graveyard and watching her being lowered in to the earth, he still just couldn't accept his Grammy was gone. And then Harvey…god did Harvey confuse the shit out of him. He had thought for certain his boss was only sticking around so often to make sure Mike got everything taken care of, and then it would be back to business as usual. But after he yelled back, after he brought up his _father_…Mike didn't know what to believe.

Just as Mike was reaching for his beer, there was a soft knock on his door. He got up, too stoned to really think about who could be on the other side, so when he opened it to see Harvey's apologetic, gorgeous face, he was beyond surprised.

Harvey grinned at him slightly and held up a baggy of what Mike considered to be the most precious green substance on earth at the moment.

"Peace offering?"

X

A.N: Okay so what do you think? After watching the summer finale, I found it really hard to finish this chap. I mean, the writing for that episode was so purely amazing…how do you compete with that? Then I realized that it is a lot easier to write things the way you wished they'd happened instead of how they actually did, even if they were pretty close to perfect. I was a bit miffed Harvey didn't go to the funeral, especially since he did know about it. BUT getting high with Mike afterwards was pure genius…which is why I will include it in the next chap! I will follow the epi pretty closely in that aspect since it was fantastically written and downright hysterical. I also will NOT be including Tess in this. For the total of 5 minutes we saw her, I hated her and I'm afraid if I try to write her all I'll do is spend an entire chap saying what a dumb skank she is.

A very special thank you to all of you that reviewed! Charlotte-Renesmee-Cullen, Guest(s), Justmehere, Olimka, spankmadlad, TeamHarry95, and MarveyTibbsGarretWilliams…you're all awesome! Also, thank you for all the favorites and follows…they mean a lot too!

Anywho, reviews are muse food. Follow me on twitter for updates and randomness NicAm13. See you next chap!


	4. Chapter 4

"The whole bag?! How do you even do that? I've got like crazy cotton mouth over here." Mike said holding up the empty pretzel bag to Harvey who was sticking his head out the window for some fresh air. Harvey smiled, still chewing on the last pretzel and looked back over at Mike.

"That's because Harvey Specter doesn't get cotton mouf." He joked, his head bobbing with every word like an idiot. Mike chuckled.

"Cotton mouf?" He questioned. Harvey looked serious for a moment.

"Mouf." Was all he said in response, causing Mike to set off with another set of giggles.

"Apparently Harvey Specter _does_ get cotton mouf." Harvey held his hands up in argument.

"I can't help it; these pretzels are making me thirsty!" He and Mike finished the last part of the sentence together making them both laugh hysterically. Mike sat up on the couch as Harvey lit another joint. He walked over to join his associate, who handed him a beer.

"Here drink this rookie." Mike joked, using Harvey's odd term of endearment back at him. Harvey took a swig and sat down, only to reach between his legs and pull out one of Mike's suit jackets. He looked incredulously from the jacket to Mike before berating him.

"Have you never heard of a hanger?!"

"Oh god!" Mike groaned, getting up and sitting at his tiny kitchen table while Harvey went to the closet beside the front door looking for a place to hang the jacket. When he didn't find anything in the closet, he turned to face the coat rack beside the door. The room spun for a moment and he decided the open hook was just too far away to walk to, so he threw the jacket at it, shrugging when it missed by a wide margin and fell to the floor. He heard Mike chuckle from across the room.

"I just got an image of you as a dad. Little Harvey Specter all hair gel and pinstriped Oshkosh b'gosh saying 'Don't play the…the situation play the man it's a win win' and you'd be all 'go to your god damn room'." Mike's voice dropped an octave when he imitated Harvey, finger pointing like he was scolding a child. It took everything in Harvey not to laugh hysterically at him, so instead he looked at some paperwork on a stand behind the couch.

"Ah you bought an apartment in Manhattan!" His voice was way more excited than he intended for it to sound, but the thought of Mike being closer to him gave him an unfamiliar warm feeling. The smile on Mike's face dropped quickly, replaced by an almost haunted look.

"I bought it for her." He said firmly, eyes staring at his boss. Harvey immediately regretted saying anything. His own face fell as he looked from Mike back to the paper.

"Oh."

"Yeah." Was all Mike offered in return. And then the floodgate opened and the truth of what was hurting him so badly finally came out.

"You know the word orphan never really meant much to me. Even after my parents died I never felt like one." He paused and took another drag off the joint in his hand. "Until now."

Harvey's heart nearly shattered at the sheer loneliness in Mike's voice. He needed to comfort him, and being in his inebriated state there was nothing to hold him back. He walked over to the small table and sat on the other side, placing his hand gently over Mike's.

"You know how I brought up my dad earlier?" Mike's eyes were looking at their hands but darted up to his face instantly. He nodded once, hardly daring to allow himself to anticipate a release of emotion from the impenetrable Harvey Specter. It already amazed him to no bounds that they were high together.

"Well, he was a jazz sax player. Sat in with everyone because they all loved him. Believed in love at first sight…and unfortunately for him, his first sight was a groupie." The look of contempt in Harvey's sharp brown eyes was frightening.

"Your mother." It wasn't a question, just fact which was quickly confirmed by a curt nod from Harvey.

"I was 16 the first time I caught her cheating. The next two years I kept my mouth shut and she kept on making a fool out of him. What this all boils down to is, I know what it's like to live in a house surrounded by family but still be completely alone." Harvey ended his story with his eyes locked on Mike's. It was the first time he had spoken of his family in _years_. He could literally count on one hand the amount of times he had willingly spoken of them and this story he had never told to anyone. The kid just made it so easy to open up, and it scared the living hell out of him to realize he _wanted_ to.

They stared at each other, getting lost once more like in his office the day before. Or was it two days ago? Neither of them could really remember. There was a tingling in both of their hands as they touched and Harvey began to slowly stroke his thumb along the back of Mike's. Harvey spoke before he even totally realized what he was saying.

"And you may technically be an orphan Mike, but you're not alone. You have me." Mike visibly swallowed then, not able to tear his eyes away and noticing how just plain gorgeous the man sitting across from him was. Harvey needed to get a hold of himself before he let this go further than either of them was willing to admit they wanted. He sat back and cleared his throat, grabbing the beer bottle and speaking again before he took another swig.

"And Donna and probably Jessica too. You know those two will mother-hen you to death if you let them." Mike grinned, finally willing himself to look away from Harvey and leaned back in his chair.

"Man your high is depressing. You should never share your feelings again, and not to me." He kidded, glancing to see a short look of hurt cross Harvey's strong features. Harvey leaned back in his own chair and sighed.

"What can I say? It's been a long week for the both of us." Mike nodded in agreement.

"Hardman."

"What I wouldn't give to piss in that bastard's office." Harvey responded without missing a beat. Mike snickered.

"That was easy off the tongue." Harvey shrugged, a look of mischief in his eye.

"I've done it before." Mike gaped at him in disbelief.

"No way." The senior partner nodded and shot him a sideways glance, a smirk playing on his lips.

"To Louis." Mike continued to gape. And then an idea hit him and he turned to fully face Harvey again looking like a light bulb had gone off in his head.

"Well if you've done it before…" He trailed off, letting Harvey fill in the blanks.

"Why not do it again?" Harvey said mischievously, facing Mike fully himself. Before he could change his mind, he pulled out his phone to call Ray.

X

Harvey strolled out of the elevator to the top floor of Pearson Hardman, Mike hot on his heels. He had to suppress a chuckle when Mike sidled around him and pressed his back to the marble wall, slowly poking his head out to look around the corner. They both peeked down the hallway to see if anyone was mulling around the seemingly deserted office, Harvey still in the suit he'd worn to the funeral and Mike in jeans and his Unabomber grey hoodie. Just as it looked like Mike was going to make a dart for it, Harvey shook his head and pulled his arm back towards the elevator.

"No." He said as he pushed the down button. Mike turned to look at him, his eyes begging for an explanation.

"What? Why?" Harvey just shook his head again.

"It's not right. If we're going to do something it needs to be original." Out of the corner of his eye Harvey saw the elevator start to close. He took two long strides over to push his arm in between before it could and then returned back to Mike's side.

"Come on I drank three Gatorades on the way here! I'm going to piss orange. It's gonna be great!" Mike said excitedly, turning back to scope out the hallway.

"No, I've got a better idea." Harvey said while walking back to the elevator, resting both hands on the doors, his lopsided smirk gleaming with the playfulness in his eyes. Mike's breath was taken away by just how purely _sexy_ the man in front of him looked in that moment.* Carefree Harvey Specter did things to Mike that he would never say out loud. Hell, he didn't even want to admit them to himself. He saw Harvey raise his eyebrows slightly and opened his mouth. If it weren't for his unexplainable urge to hear his voice, Mike probably would have just kept right on staring.

"I'm gonna get the can opener."

Mike stood stunned for a moment, mouth agape. He quickly composed himself and allowed for a giddy lilt to enter his voice.

"Wait a minute. Are you _actually_ going to finally tell me what you do with that thing?" he asked incredulously.

Harvey's smirk grew wider.

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"You look like you're high." Mike replied without missing a beat. Harvey shrugged at him, excitement brewing in his eyes.

"I am. But I _never_ joke about the can opener."

Mike looked back over his shoulder and let out an anxious moan before backing in to the elevator with Harvey. When he turned to face his boss, he was nearly thrown off balance at the look of sheer enjoyment on his face.

"Alright, what we do is..."

X

Two minutes later they were strolling down the short hallway towards Harvey's disgustingly smaller office. Just looking at the tiny room made Mike uneasy. It just wasn't Harvey and that really disturbed him for some reason.

Once they got to the glass door, Harvey slowed down a moment when they both noticed the desk lamp on, and saw movement in one of the corners. Harvey shoved open the door to see a shocked Louis standing there with a cardboard box top in his hands.

"Oh, uh, hey guys I was just-"He was cut off by Harvey taking the lapels of his suit in his hands for the second time in two days and shoving him violently against the wall, his face centimeters from the newly crowned senior partner.

"What do you think you're doing huh? Looking for more ways to make my life miserable?!" Harvey balled his fist and pulled it back to punch Louis squarely in his oversized nose. Mike jumped forward so fast he was a blur and grabbed a hold of Harvey's elbow just as it was about to swing forward.

"Harvey don't!" He yelled, stepping in between the two men causing Harvey to drop Louis back on to his feet. Mike placed a hand on Harvey's heaving chest to try to steady him. "You hit him and they win." He said, waving a dismissed hand in Louis' direction.

Louis took that as his chance to escape and did so fast, his expression comically terrified. Harvey's eyes were locked on Mike's and instead of backing away from the hand on his chest, he leaned in to it, using the touch to help calm him.

Harvey closed his eyes then and placed both of his hands over top of the one resting on his chest, holding it there and reveling in the feeling. It was incredible how Mike had flipped the switch in him from violently pissed off to suddenly calm and at peace. To the outside world, it looked as if Harvey was trying to settle himself from that rage but in reality, he was talking himself out of pulling his associate to him and doing something they would both end up regretting. Well, maybe not Harvey. He was to the point now that he was slowly accepting the way Mike was making him feel, all be it very grudgingly.

Mike stood stunned at Harvey's reaction, but took the moment to thoroughly enjoy the warmth of their hands together, the sturdiness of the chest under his palm, the slowly evening breath of the man that had come to mean so much to him. When Harvey finally opened his eyes again, Mike's breath caught in his throat at what he saw in them. It wasn't anger, or contempt, or even sadness. It was acceptance. And if that didn't just throw him for a loop.

"You should have let me hit him." Harvey's smooth voice spoke after what felt like an eternity. He finally pulled away from Mike and walked behind his desk, looking for anything amiss. Mike cleared his throat and turned to the box they had found Louis rummaging through. It was a small portion of Harvey's record collection. He picked it up and started thumbing through the precious vinyl.

"No but maybe we shouldn't have let him leave." Harvey scoffed at him.

"Why?"

"Because maybe he was trying to stash something, I don't know." Mike said, continuing to browse through the box.

"In my record collection?" The older man said skeptically.

"What betta place to hide the weed then with the Bob Marley mahn." Mike joked with a ridiculous Jamaican accent. Harvey chuckled and turned to look out his window.

"Louis doesn't even know how to use drugs let alone where to buy them." Mike stood straight up as a light bulb light in his genius brain.

"No, but I know where to buy drugs." Harvey scoffed at him, as if that was something to be proud of.

"Congratulations." Mike walked over to Harvey, grabbed his shoulder and spun around to face him.

"Seriously, let's go get something and plant it in Hardman's office." Harvey rolled his eyes.

"That's illegal Mike."

"Yes but he wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing to get rid of you!" Mike proclaimed giving Harvey a light smack on the shoulder, his eyes alight with the excitement of his idea. Just as he thought Harvey was going to agree to it, he saw the lawyer's face turn serious.

"You're right." It was almost a whisper but Mike still caught it and pulled on a satisfied smirk.

"Well yeah I usually am but what about this time?"

"Hardman wouldn't hesitate to plant something to get rid of me. What if he's the one behind the CM memo? Donna never saw it and Donna doesn't make mistakes." The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. And the more it pissed him off all over again.

"We need to take this to Jessica." Mike's voice was far away as Harvey mulled over the possible ways to totally annihilate Hardman for this. Harvey shook his head.

"Not before we have proof. And I know just where to get it." He turned and walked out of his office, eyes gleaming with possibilities. Mike stumbled after him, hurrying to catch up.

"Where are we gonna find proof?" He asked just as he caught up with his boss at the elevator. Harvey smirked down at his associate and pressed the button for the ground floor.

"Go home and get some sleep Mike. Tomorrow we're going to the gym."

X

9 o'clock the next morning Harvey and Mike walked in to O'Malley's gym to find Tanner sparring in the boxing ring. Harvey was dressed in all black gym clothes, his hands taped with his own boxing gloves draped around his neck, Mike in his typical grey suit and skinny tie, messenger bag flung over one shoulder.

When Tanner caught sight of the two of them, he stopped his sparring bout and laughed.

"Pilates is on Wednesdays Harv." He sneered, making Mike want to punch the smug right off his face. Harvey smirked and set his bag down beside the ring, pulling his gloves on.

"You're going to tell me everything I want to know about you and Hardman or I'm going to kick your ass." His tone was confident and strong. And the site of him in his boxing gear sent a shiver through Mike. That was definitely one thing he could say for Harvey, he looked good in _anything_. And probably _without_ anything too. Mike had to shake his head to regain his focus. That line of thought wasn't going to get him anywhere but in a bathroom stall with a wrist cramp.

"Um you can't and I won't." Tanner replied with his hands held out. Harvey took a step up towards the ring.

"I _can_ and you _will_." Tanner walked over to the ropes and put a knee through them to make room for Harvey to climb inside the ring with him.

"Let's make a deal." Harvey nodded.

"I win, you talk." Tanner nodded back.

"You lose, I don't". They bumped gloves and turned away from each other, Harvey finding Mike sitting on the bleachers and gave him a brief wink. Mike watched in amazed silence as Harvey weaved in and out of Tanner's punches, only taking one if it meant he got a counter in. Every time the smack of Tanner's fist hitting Harvey rang in the air though, Mike cringed. The two fighting men went back and forth, Harvey asking the same question, Tanner giving the same answer. And just when Harvey was about to let loose a particularly nasty uppercut, Mike got an idea and darted off towards the locker room.

Finally, after getting each other on the ropes a few times a piece, they stopped, Tanner offering his glove and Harvey bringing his own down on top of it in mutual surrender.

"You get one question." Tanner huffed out, wiping the sweat from his brow. Harvey rolled his eyes and pretended to consider what he was going to ask.

"Hmm, let's go with…_why did you settle_?" He said for the third time. Tanner dropped his hands to his sides and let out an exasperated breath.

"The memo was a fake." Harvey was stunned for a moment and then tried to urge Tanner on.

"What? You need to come forward and-"Tanner cut him off.

"I said one question. We're done here." Tanner walked over and climbed out of the ring, disappearing in to the restrooms.

"Mike did you hear that?" Harvey spun towards the bleachers but Mike wasn't there. He kept looking around until he saw his young associate walking out of the locker room. He had changed in to a worn superman t-shirt, black gym shorts, and converse. He was just finishing pulling a pair of boxing gloves over his taped hands when he looked up at Harvey with a grin.

"Wanna go another round old man?" Mike's voice was cocky and Harvey was thrown for a moment. He had seen Mike in casual clothes plenty of times but this; this was just going to be his undoing. Harvey gathered himself and clapped his own gloves together.

"You even know what you're doing kid?" Mike just continued to smirk at him as he climbed in to the ring and walked right up to Harvey, their noses barely an inch apart.

"I guess you'll just have to find out won't you? That is, if you're not too scared I'll break your hip." It was Harvey's turn to smirk.

"Bring it on rookie." He held out his gloves and Mike brought his own down on top of them. They backed away from each other and fell in to their respective stances. Harvey was surprised to see Mike take a southpaw stance, showing that he did actually have some training. This was going to be fun.

Harvey stepped forward first and threw out a quick jab just to gage Mike's reaction time. The kid side stepped smoothly and threw out his own counter hook, catching Harvey in the ribs. The older man shook his head and began circling Mike like he was prey. The fact that he now knew Mike could fight started to really turn him on, and this was _not_ a scenario where that was a good thing.

"Where the hell did you learn how to fight?" Harvey questioned, tossing out another punch which connected with Mike's jaw. Mike shook it off and put his hands back up, waiting for Harvey's shoulder to drop so he could make his move.

"I had a mean streak in high school. Was in at least 3 fights a week. So, Grammy put me in boxing classes." He said it with a mild shrug, not willing to drop his hands even a fraction. They traded blows back and forth, neither willing to let the other gain too much of a lead. Mike went for another hook aimed for Harvey's ribs but the taller man leaned forward causing Mike to step back. But Mike was great at feinting and just when Harvey thought he had the advantage and went to swing, Mike pulled his gloved fist down and up, landing a strong uppercut to Harvey's masculine jaw. It was the shock rather than the force that knocked Harvey on his ass.

He was left staring up at Mike in shock, an appreciative gleam in his eyes. Mike let out a breathy chuckle and stepped forward, offering his arm to Harvey.

"Did you get the license number?" He asked, confusing Harvey thoroughly.

"Of what?"

"Of the truck that ran over your face." This time Harvey couldn't suppress the full hearted laugh that escaped him as he pulled himself up with Mike's offered arm.

"An obscure Rocky quote? Now we're talking." They laughed together until the short ring of Harvey's phone could be heard coming from his gym bag signaling he had a new text. They both climbed out of the ring, Harvey pulling out his phone and grinning like the devil at the lit screen.

"Donna found Hardman's schedule. He did meet with the president of CM the day before they buried the defect. We've got the bastard." The smile on his face lit up the whole room for Mike and he hated to be the one to make it go away.

"Harvey, finding his schedule from 5 years ago doesn't actually _prove_ anything." Mike said hesitantly, but that gorgeous smile remained plastered on Harvey's face. He put his arm around Mike's shoulders and steered him towards the locker room.

"Exactly. Which is why I need you to get over to CM with that schedule and get Mr. President to sign an affidavit saying he told Hardman about the defect and the douchebag told him to bury it."

X

Half an hour later, Mike was leaning against the slick silver Porsche waiting to get the one signature that would finally get rid of Hardman for good. As he waited, he felt his pocket buzz with a new text. He pulled out his phone and couldn't help the stupid grin that covered his face when he saw it was from Harvey.

_**Louis snitched… -H**_. Confused, Mike typed back furiously. Anything involving Louis lately was never good.

_**About? –M**_**.** Not ten seconds later his phone buzzed again.

_**Had Hardman order me a drug test. Refused. Lucky I didn't push him down the elevator shaft. Review is in half an hr. If you aren't here, the punishment will be severe. HURRY. –H**_

Mike's heart leapt to his throat with fear for Harvey but couldn't help himself from sending the most sickeningly flirty text he had ever sent in his life.

_**Don't you threaten me with a good time. Be back ASAP. -M**_

Mike put his phone away just in time to see the arrogant CEO step out of the elevator and towards his car. He tried to argue with him, he tried to intimidate him, and he tried to be the best Harvey he could in the situation but was left feeling sick as he watched the car pull away from him, his last hope of saving his boss. No, his friend and honestly so much more. His mind went a millions miles a minute and finally came up with the most desperate hailmary he could think of. He quickly pulled a pen from the inside pocket of his jacket and signed his own name to the affidavit, and then ran out of the parking garage to hail a cab. He just prayed no one would call their bluff.

X

An hour later he and Harvey were alone in his office, basking in the glory of the ultimate win.

"I saw that head shake on your way in earlier. What was really on that paper?" Harvey asked curiously, almost afraid to hear the answer. Mike just stared straight ahead, face serious.

"Exactly what I said was on it." Harvey sighed beside him.

"You know signing someone else's name to a sworn document is a felony right?" His tone was more worried than anything else, and that made Mike smile.

"I didn't sign someone else's name. I signed my own name. I mean, how often do you really look at another man's shoes?" He was cocky with his answer and it sent a thrill through Harvey, who stepped closer and put a hand on either side of Mike's shoulders.

"You're a genius you know that? I could just kiss you for being so brilliant." The flush that invaded Mike's face said more than words ever could. He almost backed away but he was riding on the high of victory and was feeling bold. He stepped closer to Harvey, so that their noses were barely touching.

"Then why don't you?" He whispered, his eyes traveling down to rest on the seemingly soft, full lips in front of him. Before Harvey could over think it and stop himself, he closed the distance and planted his lips on Mike's in a gentle but searing kiss. They both moaned in to each other, Mike bringing his arms around Harvey's waist. Just as Mike felt Harvey's tongue run across his lips, a throat was cleared loudly from the office door way. The two men jumped apart and looked terrified at the smug, knowing smiles of Jessica and Donna. Jessica took a few steps in to the office and held up a bottle of champagne.

"Well, I think all of this deserves a toast don't you?"

Harvey and Mike stood awkwardly while she poured four glasses of bubbling amber liquid.

"A toast to new beginnings and finally finding a place where we all rightfully belong." She held up her glass in salute. Donna handed Harvey and Mike theirs before raising her own. Harvey looked over at Mike and grinned at him, raising his glass towards his still visibly shaken associate.

"To new beginnings."

X

*Did anyone else just about DIE at this part of the scene? I thought my raging female hard on was going to explode with all the sexy. Gabriel Macht…my god can that man wear a suit and a smirk. Yum.*

Author's Note: *wipes brow* phew! No fugging joke 4500 words! Which is alright with me to be honest. Half way through I thought about separating this in to two chapters but it just didn't feel right so here you all are with an abnormally LONG update! Lol Now the real question is whether I should mark this as complete and start a sequel? Or do a minor time jump and continue on. Which would y'all rather see?

As always, a very big Thank You to all of you that reviewed, favorited, and followed! You guys are my motivation. (Maxlogcale, Charlotte-Renesmee-Cullen)

Review and let me know what you thought and what you would like to see in the future! I can't do anything unless I know what you want to see! Or follow me on Twitter and let me know there! NicAm13. Until then,

Peace, love and sexiness,

Nic


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